Everything Tony Vitello said after a series-clinching win over Samford on Saturday

Tennessee baseball came-from-behind on Saturday for a win over Samford, 7-3 in game two for a series-clinching victory. Below is video and a written transcript from the Tony Vitello press conference in postgame.

On what it says about Levi Clark to hit a pinch hit grand slam as a freshman…

“It says that, it could kind of work on two ends. You want to have good presence and not get over zealous in that situation which the crowd can work to your benefit which in that occasion I think it did but I’ve also been around guys too, our crowd gets so into the game (that) sometimes you can use that adrenaline in the wrong way. He just did a great job of staying composed would be my one main point. And you don’t want to overthink the situation. Our hitters did a good job of battling and obviously there was a mistake in there but the pressure was kind of on the pitcher in that situation and I think Levi just looked like he had a simple approach there and he’s so strong and talented and of course he works hard too that it ended up being a pretty explosive cap on the game really.”

On the importance of Nate Snead’s fifth inning strikeout…

“I think that was huge, but really if you did— there were moments there. You could pick one pitch from him or Marcus (Phillips) where they put a good swing on it or we give up a free base, but if you just combine what those guys did for nine innings, it was very impressive. And without sounding too snarky, it’s kind of expected too. They both got a ton of experience last year and the ability has always been there and they just continue to get better in a bunch of areas. So they’re capable of keeping us in any game that they’re pitching in. And for right now, it seems that Marcus will start a lot of games and Nate can really do a ton of different things for us too. So they did a good job and our offense needed to reward them for what they did today.”

On what they like about a Phillips-Snead stack…

“I think that plan maybe isn’t as much, kind of the one-two combo, but Liam (Doyle) and (Tanner) Franklin kind of, it makes sense and it’s something we like. I think by the time you get past three pitchers, it’s tough to kind of rationalize going to somebody other than Snead if the game’s tight. Now there are some guys we trust, there’ll be some guys we’ll be getting back and things like that, but you could make a case that Nate was our MVP last year. You could say that about a lot of different guys offensively and defensively and of course pitching wise. But he did so many different things for us last year and we used him more than any other pitcher. So who that guy will be at the end of the year, I don’t know. It’ll be one of those things you vote on too. There’s no way to actually decide it. So the one thing he can do is compete in games and help us decide games, whether it’s a win or loss and kind of trust him in any situation, whether it’s somewhere during game one or we start him at some point or do what he did today.”

On the value of Nate Snead’s versatility…

“In a perfect world, he’s the opening day starter, and he is also the game three starter, which is the mentality you want. It’s the mentality a lot of guys have in this league that kind of have an alpha personality or just that are on our schedule. But he’s also got the resiliency. He takes good care of himself, he’s in good shape, takes pride in his throwing, and last year there were days where he wanted the ball where, when we were just doing the math, didn’t think he should be available. 

“So, it’s nice to have that problem. It’s kind of a throwback situation like Kirby [Connell] taking the ball every day as opposed to the new trend, I think, with pitchers, which I get it, is to train. You’re like a football guy. You throw the ball once a week.”

On why Tennessee has been able to hit so many grand slams the last two seasons…

“I’m always going to defer to the physicality thing with Q (strength coach Quentin Eberhardt) and and complemented by Beth [Schwartz], our nutritionist. Now, those guys get recruited to play in the SEC like a lot of other hitters and some of the hitters that we see across the dugout this weekend, the ability is there. So, if they’re going to get that much stronger, now the ability to drive the ball out of the park is there and do it with less effort, too. I mean, that was a really smooth swing. But Levi [Clark] has always been a strong kid, he comes here, he gets stronger, and so the ability to impact the baseball is there. 

“But also I think we’ve got a really good situation with Ross [Kivett] and Luke Bonfield in our dugout and Josh Elander. Those guys have all been that guy. Everything Levi has done and wants to do, those guys have already kind of lived that situation out. So, I think all the hitters in our league are coached well, but I think those guys provide good perspective for, ‘Hey, how do you handle this situation?’ And I don’t know what Jay Abernathy said to Levi as he was walking to the plate, but it worked. Jay needs to realize as a coach if a good thing happens, you take credit for it. And I don’t know if anyone saw it, but it was a cool moment to see for another freshman to feel like he has the right to speak up in that situation. And of course, it all started with Dean Curley kind of giving Levi a little bit of a tip on what he saw from the pitcher. I think he (Samford pitcher Joseph Lee) even struck Dean out, but it kind of goes to show you, it’s a whole offense against a whole pitching staff, but at the time, one pitcher. And so even though Dean didn’t have success, he and Jay both helped Levi in that situation.”

On what he likes about Jay Abernathy at the bottom of the order…

“We’ll take him wherever. We talked about Reese [Chapman]… you could pick a lineup out of a hat, again, a really good lineup [from] whatever conference or whatever, and he could kind of hit anywhere in the order. It just felt like we really have a good lineup if he’s kind of anchoring that spot. He was, and then he got on base in front of Dean [Curley]. So, Jay [Abernathy] was that guy today. We talked about Jay being the leadoff guy for us, and we’ve had scrimmages, I don’t know that we’ve done it here, but he’s kind of been the five and six-hole guy in scrimmages, too, even though he doesn’t profile as that, maybe. He’s just a competitor, and obviously he’s got other skills you guys are starting to figure out, but he and Levi are both really, really competitive, and there’s other freshmen that are similar, too.”

On the ability to be versatile in the lineup due to so many options…

“It’s great as long as they all stay on board. I mean, there’s a couple guys too we haven’t utilized the last two days that either could be a great defensive replacement or a real plus as a pinch runner and then some other guys that are capable of doing some things matchup wise too. As long as everyone keeps their weapons sharp and ready to go, even though they don’t necessarily get a chance every time. And then the guys they’re being exchanged for are onboard with. Hey, Ariel [Antigua] played a great game for us -had one of the better at-bats in the game and he was the first guy to help tell Levi [Clark] to get ready. So, if you got that combo going on, that’s a nice thing.”

On the freshmen having composure…

“On the stat sheet, it makes you feel comfortable. Like last year when you come to the park and the roster sheet I should say, where everyone’s older because it just kind of is a crutch for you. These guys can be leader but I’ve honestly, I don’t like saying it out loud, but I’ve kind of thrown in the towel on some of those guys being freshmen. Some of them need to get smarter so that’s how they’re freshmen. But as far as being confident in their abilities and being competitive and having been in moments. Like a game like today there’s about six of them that’s kind of, they’ve already been doing that and they’ve shown what they can do.”

On the pitching plan for Sunday and if Tegan Kuhns will be available…

“Yeah, he’ll be available. I mean we haven’t told anybody. I guess we’ll probably start [Brandon] Arvidson, even though he started earlier in the week. It was a very short outing and kind of reminds me of Liam Spence’s brother Josh Spence started a Tuesday against us and a Sunday against us back when he was at Arizona State. The difference was, I think he threw like damn near two complete games. We won’t do that with ours, but we’ve got everybody available besides those four guys that have thrown. So, we’ll probably use a plethora.”

On the vibe he felt from the team having felt the pressure for the first time this year…

“It just was needed. You can get complacent. I mean imagine if a kid – say if you touch the stove it’s hot, you learn not to do it again. But what if a kid just kept touching the stove six or seven times, you know? That’s the only thing I thought of in my head earlier is as a coach, you’re kind of being on your toes. And our guys were challenged yesterday, I think, more than they realized and we warned them of that. Here it was and even bigger challenge today. So, you got to be careful about getting lulled to sleep when you’re on defense and maybe the balls aren’t being put in in play as often because we do have a couple good arms. And similarly, you got to be careful about getting lulled to sleep that we got this thing figured out. We’ve had – again, on your guys’ stat sheet – nothing but success. There’s a lot of areas in the dugout and on the field that we need to get better at. And the scoreboard will tell the story at the end of the day.”